Description

The E-100 is a gift Rank V German heavy tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB) and 7.7 (RB/SB). The tank was introduced in Update 1.53 "Firestorm" and has the distinction of being the second Rank V gift vehicle in-game, with the first being the La-174. The E-100 could be obtained in the special tournament event, titled "Teutonic Giants" that was held during and after the Thunder League. Only a limited amount of 900 units were given out during the tournament, making the E-100 the rarest tank in-game.

The E-100 looks like a more sleek version of the Maus, or perhaps a more practical one. The two share the same default camouflage scheme of the yellow Dunkelgelb and green 'olivgrün paint. The two super-heavy tanks also share the same turret design with the 128 mm primary armament along with a coaxial 75 mm and machine gun. The big difference in design though is that the E-100 looks more like a really beefed up Tiger II tank while the Maus looks like a wall.

General info

Survivability and armour

The E-100 presents a more sloped frontal armour that is more effective than the Maus', the downside in the design is the lower front plate that is thinner, not to mention that it is a big target.

The side armour on the E-100 is also slightly more effective than the Maus. On the Maus, the huge flat side skirts make up part of the side hull armour. On the E-100, the side skirts are completely separated from the main hull and are 75 mm thick sloping, which adds up with the 120 mm flat side hull plate. This feature, along with the suspension below the side skirts, keeps the side hull of the E-100 relatively well protected from lesser rounds.

The rear armour between the two heavy tanks are roughly the same effectiveness, but the E-100 rear slopes inward similar to a Tiger II design while the Maus remains all clunky. However, while the Maus engine is in the center of the vehicle and the transmission is one the back, the E-100 is switched with the engine in the back and transmission in the front, so a penetrating hit to the rear can hit the engine and also set it on fire.

Front hull armour also have 120 mm track guard armor. Not a weak point as these are not in the way of the body.

Suspension wheels are both 30 mm thick, while tracks are 60 mm thick

Front part of the belly armour is 85 mm thick, the center and rear part is 40 mm thick

A 40 mm RHA plate separates the engine compartment from the crew. The engine in general is surrounded by 40 mm plates.

Rear is protected by engine parts and 60 mm tracks

Various parts of the engine and rear are covered with 10-20 mm parts.

Turret ring area on the turret sides and rear has a flatter side than the rest of the turret.

Mobility

Compared to the Maus, the E-100 truly shines here better than anything else in differences. The E-100 weighs about 38 tons less than the Maus and the effect in speed is noticeable, able to go 1/3 faster forwards than the Maus and is more maneuverable. However, it only has half the reverse speed of the Maus. Despite the reverse speed being average when compared with other heavies of equivalence, the additional mobility can help the E-100 react faster than the Maus on the battlefield.

Additional armament

The E-100, like the Maus, also has a coaxial 75 mm with HEAT ammunition for lesser targets so the limited 128 mm shells (42 of them) are not wasted. The 75 mm also can fire smoke round so it is possible to keep a secondary ready with smoke while moving around with an AP round in the main gun.

Machine guns

Usage in battles

The E-100 is played similar to the Maus, with the same armaments and similar armour rating. However, the E-100 has the benefit of increased mobility due to its improved chassis. The E-100 can thus be somewhat more suitable in moving from cover from cover, but close quarter combat is still not recommended due to its still relatively slow movement, long reloads, and the lethal anti-tank armaments the other Rank V vehicles are bound to have, including the now prominent Anti-tank guided missiles.

Modules

The usual unlocks should be made. In Tier I, Parts and Horizontal Drive should be unlocked first to access Tier II, which then should unlock FPE and the PzGr 43 ammo. Tier III should focus on Crew Replenishment for better survival, then with Elevation Mechanism or Filters. Tier IV should focus on the Engine for better mobility. All other modules can be unlocked at leisure.

Has a 0.97x multiplier on the frontal turret armor, reducing its thickness to 213.4 mm.

Large size makes fighting in towns restricting

Side armor is slightly weaker than the Maus

History

Development

Late in World War II, Germany started a project meant to standardize their tank designs. A similar attempt at this started in 1943 with the Panther II, which would use parts from the Tiger II to simplify construction, but this fell through with the cancellation of the Panther II. The new tank standardization project was known as the Entwicklung series, or the "E-series", and was meant to fix the issue of poor production quality and increase the production rate. The series was named with "E" followed by the weight classification of the design which would also indicate its role. E-5, for example, would be a vehicle between 5-10 tons and would be the basis of new light tanks. The series followed with the E-10 (tank destroyer), E-25, E-50 (medium tanks), E-75 (heavy tank), and the super-heavy E-100. Aside from standardization in parts such as the wheel (which was the Tiger II's design), the E-series do not provide much other improvement to existing armor designs, an example is that the E-50 and E-75 series are essentially a redesigned Panther and Tiger II respectively.

E-100

Of the designs, the E-100 was the most radical in terms of design. The E-100 was proposed to be the basis of heavy artillery, anti-aircraft, tank, and tank destroyer on the battlefield. The design concept began alongside the super-heavy Maus in June 1943 and was intended that the design would use components from the Tiger II and the Maus turret. In March 1944, Adlerwerke submitted the blueprint of the design, which would use the Maus turret and parts from the Tiger II, namely the turning mechanism and transmission. The design proposed the usage of a 700 hp Maybach HL230 used in nearly every German heavy tanks or a newer 1200 hp Maybach engine. Difference in the design from the Tiger II basis was a 90 cm diameter road wheel and spring suspension rather than torsion-bars. The turret was to be a new design different from the Maus, in that it is simpler and lighter.

However ambitious the project was, Hitler ordered in July 1944 that work on the super heavy tanks be cancelled. However, the E-100 was still developed with low priority, only three Adler workers were reported to have been working on the prototype after the order. The prototype was never completed and in April 1945, the American 751st Field Artillery Battalion captured the prototype, of which was simply the hull with the roof barely completed. The prototype was sent to Britain by the British Army for evaluation before being scrapped.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

Obtainable events

The E-100 was first available during the "Teutonic Giants" tournament from the Thunder League. Lasting through four different tournaments from a time span of January to March 2016, the top 150 players in the first two tournaments and the top 200 of the latter two received the E-100.